Mediagazer: Disney has sold out all its available commercial inventory for its Oscars telecast on Sunday; source: the event drew 18 returning sponsors and 24 new ones (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

9:00 PM ET, March 12, 2026

Top News:

BuzzFeed warns that it lacks the resources to fund its cash obligations over the next year and is exploring options, as it reports a Q4 loss of $26.8M — The digital media company said it has broadly operated at a loss since its conception and is burdened by legacy commitments

Discussion: CNN, Reuters, The Information, BuzzFeed and Bloomberg

Washington Post:

Trump nominates Sarah B. Rogers, a State Department official, as chief executive of USAGM, after a judge ruled Kari Lake has been illegally running the agency — Lake, whom a judge found has been illegally running the agency, said that she will stay on as deputy CEO.

Discussion: Reuters, NBC News, NOTUS, The Hill, Deadline, @lrozen, @lrozen, The Gateway Pundit, The Wrap, @lrozen, @scottnover, @scottnover.bsky.social and @karilake

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Universal says it is shifting to five weekends of exclusive theatrical runs, up from three, and will move to a minimum of seven weekends in January 2027 — Theaters will get a minimum of five weekends of exclusive play and then, starting next year, seven. A pandemic-era policy was guaranteeing only three.

Discussion: Variety, Spyglass, Los Angeles Times, @filmbrainbmb.bsky.social, Deadline, Tinu Arora on LinkedIn, @coreyatad.com, World of Reel, GoNintendo, /Film, @whatsnextmtthw.bsky.social, Originally Reported …, @bobchipman.bsky.social, What's on Netflix, The Wrap, Dark Horizons, Media Play News and Screen Rant

Erik Wemple / New York Times:

In NYT v. DOD, the Pentagon argued that a box on WaPo's website asking for tips about the military crossed the line into “solicitation” not protected by 1A — When lawyers for The New York Times and the Pentagon gathered in a federal courthouse last week to debate the department's …

Discussion: Politico, Media Nation and @jameeljaffer.bsky.social

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Disney has sold out all its available commercial inventory for its Oscars telecast on Sunday; source: the event drew 18 returning sponsors and 24 new ones — Disney has sold out all its available commercial inventory tied to its March 15 Oscars telecast, according to John Campbell …

Discussion: The Wrap, Adweek, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Comic Book and IGN

Ben Mullin / @benmullin:

At a meeting, Jeff Bezos told top Washington Post editors and reporters that he had spurned seven offers to sell the news organization — scooplet: at the meeting, Jeff Bezos also said he had spurned seven (!) offers to sell The Post

Discussion: @benmullin, @mediaevan, The Wrap and @benmullin

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Apple's Eddy Cue says viewership for F1's first race weekend on Apple TV was up compared to the first weekend in 2025 on ESPN, exceeding expectations — The Apple executive says that viewership for the Australian Grand Prix was up on Apple TV compared to last year's broadcast on ESPN.

Discussion: Awful Announcing, @tightoff.bsky.social, 9to5Mac and r/formula1

Kayla Cobb / The Wrap:

Disney+ is rolling out Verts, its new short-form video feed, to US users on its mobile app, featuring clips from movies and TV shows on Disney+ — Users will be able to swipe through a stream of scenes from movies and shows on Disney+ — Disney's experiment with vertical video begins this week.

@lulugnavarro:

NYT AG Sulzberger says the NYT has 2,300 journalists, double the number from 10 years ago, and 3,000+ in total, including Athletic and Opinion staff — The size of the @nytimes newsroom: Publisher AG Sulzberger says it's now 2300 journalists, doubled from 10 years ago.

Discussion: The Wrap, @aseitzwald, @michaelpfreeman, @thenewsham, @deggans, @emmanuelfelton and @andrewsolender

Steve McClellan / MediaPost:

Publicis acquires content intelligence firm AdgeAi, to identify the most effective creative elements of ad campaigns and to improve content strategy and ROI — While agencies and marketers have gone to great lengths to optimize media expenditures, Publicis Groupe is doubling …

Discussion: PRWeek, Adweek, The Drum, campaignlive.com, MarketScreener and PR Week UK

Arushi Jacob / Variety:

UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report finds that films with casts that are 41%-50% BIPOC achieved the highest median global and domestic box office receipts in 2025 — Increasingly diverse audiences across the United States also prefer diverse content in theatrical film releases …

Discussion: @blackamazon.bsky.social, Forbes, @nelsoncarvajal.com, Los Angeles Times and Social Sciences

Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:

Incoming Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro appoints Paul Roeder, a 25-year Disney veteran, as senior EVP and chief communications officer, effective March 19 — One of the first big staff changes that incoming Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro is making is upping 25-year vet and Disney EVP of Communications …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Walt Disney Company, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Variety, Dow Jones Newswires and WKZO

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Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
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